7
Chapter 7
Venomfang Rat.
An Uncommon grade monster in the shape of a rat with poisonous fangs.
After a fierce struggle with the beast, I secured an honorable and glorious victory.
My heart swelled with pride.
This sense of accomplishment is no joke.
I guess I really can do it if I try.
Good job, me!
All hail the cooking Buff!
Courage welled up inside me once again.
I felt confident enough to take on anything.
But I do not plan on getting too arrogant like before.
Because there are plenty of strong monsters everywhere around here.
Calling myself the strongest was just something I said out of intoxication from the victory.
From now on, I should only pick fights with opponents I know I can beat, just like today.
Making that resolution to myself,
I checked the achievement I just unlocked.
More precisely, I checked the reward for the achievement.
[You have achieved the Struggle achievement.]
[Your level has increased by 1.]
[You have achieved the First Kill achievement.]
[Your level has increased by 1.]
[You have achieved the He Who Annihilated a Higher Species achievement.]
[Your level has increased by 4.]
Three achievements unlocked at once!
The rewards were all a Level Up.
So you could Level Up through achievements as well.
It is a little disappointing that there are no skill rewards.
Well, I have no complaints.
Because I am a Teddy Bear who knows how to be satisfied.
Even this much reward is more than enough to be grateful for.
After all, I raised my level by six in just a single battle.
[Chef Teddy Bear lv.10]
┗Pw.10 (+1)
┗Rnk.Normal
[Skill]
[Helper lv.1], [Evolution lv.1], [Action lv.2], [Feeding lv.1], [Magic Chef lv.1]
The cooking Buff is gone.
It looks like the duration has ended.
Anyway, this is a massive growth!
To reach level ten in an instant like this!
A wave of happiness washed over me.
Just looking at my level brings a smile to my face.
Yeah, this is what a proper level looks like.
I finally felt like I had been reborn as a full-fledged monster.
Ah. Since my level went up, did my Physical Adaptability increase too?
Helper buddy! Tell me my Physical Adaptability!
[Your current Physical Adaptability is 31.]
Right, 31, you say?
It definitely went up.
And if Physical Adaptability exceeds 30?
It is time for an Evolution right now!
Right now was a moment where Evolution was desperately needed.
Because my entire body was battered from the aftermath of the battle.
Tears all over my body were letting out the stuffing inside, and I was in a perilous state where even the Mana Stone inside me could fall out if I moved too violently. Just because I got a Level Up did not mean my body recovered like in a game.
But it is a different story if I undergo Evolution.
Because all my injuries will be completely healed.
Evolution was no different from the ultimate healing skill.
[Would you like to use [Evolution lv.1]?]
Of course!
Proceed right away!
I showed my will to use the Evolution skill.
This moment always makes my heart pound.
I wonder what kind of Teddy Bear I will undergo Evolution into this time.
Please, I am praying for a mecha Teddy Bear!
================
[Available Species for Evolution]
◎ Truly Teddy Bear - Normal
================
What is this?
Truly Teddy Bear?
What is with this species name? Do you want to get scolded?
I cannot get a grasp of what characteristics this Teddy Bear has at all.
If there were multiple options, I never would have picked a name like this.
But there was only one option for me.
Since I had no right to choose, I selected Truly Teddy Bear without hesitation.
Flash!
As always, light enveloped my body.
[Evolution is complete.]
The Evolution was completed in an instant.
My ruined body was completely restored as well.
As for the changes to my appearance...
Maybe I got a little taller?
I could just consider it as having almost no changes at all.
Huh? The Moja was still there.
The tattered Toque Blanche.
I probably will not need to wear this again.
Because wearing it does not give any special effects anyway.
Chomp, munch.
Chew, chew.
I put the Moja in my mouth, chewed, and swallowed it.
Oh, Toque Blanche.
It was a short time, but it was fun being with you.
For your final moments, rest peacefully inside my body and disappear through Decomposition.
I bid farewell to a dear friend.
After that, I immediately brought up my Status Window.
[Truly Teddy Bear lv.9]
┗Pw.9 (+1)
┗Rnk.Normal
[Skill]
[Helper lv.1], [Evolution lv.1], [Action lv.2], [Feeding lv.1], [Magic Chef lv.1], [Teddy Bear Camouflage lv.1]
Let us see... My level has naturally gone down.
There is no increase in additional power.
I also checked if a Limit Breakthrough was possible.
It was impossible.
Let us hope for the next time.
What I gained from this Evolution was a new skill.
The skill name is Teddy Bear Camouflage.
The species name must have been Truly Teddy Bear because of this skill.
I slowly read through the skill description.
[Teddy Bear Camouflage lv.1]
─You can transform the aura of Mana emitted from your body to Camouflage yourself as a perfect Teddy Bear.
─The transformed aura of Mana cannot be detected. However, beings of Unique grade or higher can detect it.
─There are no restrictions placed on your Action.
Oh. This is better than expected?
It was a skill that would help me survive.
It seems like it will be very useful when I encounter strong enemies.
If opponents cannot detect the aura of Mana emitted from my body, they will not consider me a living creature and will just ignore me and pass by.
Even Mr. Tiger would not be an exception.
Because it said only beings of a high grade can detect the transformed Mana.
That meant level was irrelevant.
No matter how high their level was, if their grade was low, they would not be able to feel the transformed Mana.
And this skill was not just for survival.
It seemed like it would be useful when launching a surprise attack too.
Only if the opponent was below the Unique grade, of course.
For reference, I just found out that a Unique grade even existed.
Anyway.
Should I try using it once?
[Using the [Teddy Bear Camouflage lv.1] skill.]
Did it work properly?
It does not feel like the aura of Mana has been transformed.
I could still vividly feel the Mana flowing through my body.
Hmm...
Ah! Come to think of it, it was obvious.
It would not make sense if I felt the change.
Because that would mean I could not detect my own Mana.
After realizing the reason.
I immediately stopped using the skill.
I could not keep this skill on at all times.
Because it consumed a little bit of Mana while activated.
It required an even greater amount of Mana than the Action skill.
I decided to use Teddy Bear Camouflage only when necessary, and now it was about time to grab the corpse of the Venomfang Rat and return to my shelter.
It is getting darker.
That is all for today's activities.
***
The darkness lifted and dawn broke, marking the start of a new day.
I did not sleep because I was a Doll.
That did not mean I did anything else either.
I just lay completely still without moving an inch to save Mana.
I should only be active during the day.
Because it feels like it would be dangerous in the dark.
I did not just space out all through the dawn.
I recalled yesterday's duel countless times and felt proud, or I thought about all sorts of things regarding how I would live from now on.
I also set up my tasks for today in advance.
My plan for today is to play with Jjokkomi!
And to repay her for feeding me the Mana Stone last time, I planned to cook the Venomfang Rat's corpse and serve it to her. I also thought about gifting her the Mana Stone from the Venomfang Rat.
I wonder what Jjokkomi's reaction will be.
Will she be surprised to see me able to move?
Will she be touched to see I caught prey for her?
Hehe.
I was looking forward to seeing her amusing reaction.
Jjokkomi.
Kkomi-kkomi.
When are you coming?
I am anxiously waiting for you.
I steadfastly held my position.
Because I did not know when Jjokkomi would come looking for me here.
Time flowed endlessly like that.
Until the sun retreated and the Moonlight descended upon the ground.
I tried waiting all day.
But Jjokkomi never came to find me in the end.
Uh... did she forget the location of this place?
Or was her mother's supervision so strict that she could not sneak out?
She must have had unavoidable circumstances.
I guess she will come play tomorrow.
The darkness deepened.
A dangerous time to be active.
Without fail, I lay down on the ground.
For some reason, I feel like tonight will be longer.
Because of this anxious feeling of waiting for someone.
If only I could at least sleep, this darkness would pass by quickly.
Come to think of it, I have not even tried.
If I set my mind to it, could I not sleep too?
I am a Doll.
I am fine even without getting any Sleep.
That is what I thought since the very first day I was born.
So I never even attempted to sleep at all.
Just in case, let us at least give it a try today.
I briefly got up from my spot.
And popped off the buttons attached to my face.
I carefully placed the detached buttons on the floor.
Now I cannot see anything.
This was the method I devised for closing my eyes.
Closing my eyes in my own way.
I lay back down on the cold floor and forced myself to sleep.
While carefully hugging the corpse of the Venomfang Rat tightly to give as a gift to Jjokkomi.
***
The quiet night passed, and a lively morning arrived.
No matter how hard I tried, I could not sleep.
As expected, the concept of Sleep did not exist for a Doll like me.
Still, it was not completely pointless.
Because I learned a new fact thanks to this Action.
Even without my buttons!
The fact that I do not lose my vision!
When I first popped the buttons off.
It was completely pitch black before my eyes for a while.
However, as time passed by, I started to see in front of me again.
It was a surprising and new discovery.
Ah. But I attached the buttons back on.
Because it does not look good aesthetically if they are not attached.
It feels empty without them too.
More importantly, is Jjokkomi not coming today either?
I need to grow too, so it is a bit inconvenient to keep waiting in my spot like yesterday.......
It was when I was having those thoughts while stroking the corpse since morning.
Rustle.
Suddenly, I heard the sound of someone stepping on grass.
Rustle, rustle.
The sound gradually got closer.
It seemed someone was approaching this way.
Is it Jjokkomi by any chance?
As I stared intently in the direction of the sound with delight, a creature that looked completely different from Jjokkomi pushed through the bushes and popped out.
Huh? That shape is, do not tell me......
Human? That is a Human, right?
There were Humans in this world too!
...That thought did not last long.
[Vampire lv.40]
┗Pw.240
┗Rnk.Elite
Gasp! A bloodsucker!
I instinctively activated a skill.
Truly Teddy Bear! No, Teddy Bear Camouflage!
[Using the [Teddy Bear Camouflage lv.1] skill.]
The Vampire had approached right in front of my nose before I knew it.
And she came to a sudden halt on the spot.
Staring down at me intently with a suspicious look in her eyes.
"Strange. I am sure I felt Mana from this Doll earlier......."
That must be your imagination.
I am just an ordinary Teddy Bear.
Please do not mind me and just pass by.